Marin Voice: The future of aging

MAY is Older Americans Month. President Barack Obama has called upon Americans of all ages to acknowledge the remarkable contributions and sacrifices of our elders, and offer our renewed gratitude and support.

Especially in Marin, we need to take time to thank the 62,000 adults over the age of 60 (24 percent of our population), many of whom have helped make Marin's abundant quality of life possible.

In March of this year I attended the American Society on Aging (ASA) national conference on "Aging in America" held in San Diego. The conference brings together several thousand leaders in the field of aging from across the country to learn about the latest trends that are shaping the future of aging.

This conference marked the 60th anniversary for ASA and, coincidentally, Whistlestop is also celebrating its 60th anniversary, having started as the Marin Senior Coordinating Council in 1954.

Today, those ages 85 and older are the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population, and the group turning 100 years or older grew 66 percent from 32,194 in 1980 to 53,364 in 2010.

A longer life has not necessarily meant a better quality of life, however, and no one knows this more intimately than the millions of adult children caring for their parents as they struggle to remain in family homes and communities.

While living at home is preferable to life in an institution, it can still feel like a hollow victory when it happens in a home that poses physical, financial or emotional challenges and makes meaningful connections with others difficult, if not impossible.

Without social interaction, meaning and purpose, advanced aging in one's home, often alone, can result in diminishing choices and mounting levels of loneliness, helplessness and boredom — the same three plagues of nursing homes.

As one 89-year-old woman in a recent study said, "The hardest thing about getting old is that the world around you dies before you do."

Marin has over 13,000 older adults living alone, and 75 percent are women.

The future of "Aging in Community" is about transforming how we age. It is focused on approaching aging, and aging well, within the context of community-based support and services.

As evidenced by research, we are better together than when we try to fly solo during life's third chapter. There is a growing movement, especially among America's inventive boomer generation, to explore new pathways, strategies and challenges of how to age successfully.

This new trend is to not merely "age in place," but to age in community, for better health, enhanced quality of life and a heightened sense of self-value and connection.

The concept of aging in community is of critical importance because aging well is best achieved in social connectedness.

And, if there are needs for support that develop, services alone are insufficient. What people really need is for natural social systems to work at an ideal level, which means self-care, care for each other, and systems of support in place that help individuals to remain connected, so that life remains emotionally and purposefully meaningful.

Aging in community is compelling and relevant because it is at the core of how people live every day.

Our oldest citizens have given us a wonderful gift — Marin County. Let's make sure that they can enjoy the fruits of their labor by giving back to them at their time of need.

We at Whistlestop are committed to finding ways to help older adults in Marin age in community and not simply age in place. It's our mission.

Joseph O'Hehir is the executive director of Whistlestop, Marin's center for services for seniors.